LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Terrence Jones had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Doron Lamb scored 16 and top-seeded Kentucky began its quest for an eighth national title with a staggering display of athleticism in an 81-66 victory over Western Kentucky on Thursday night.

On a day when Syracuse nearly became the first No. 1 seed ever to lose to a 16, the Wildcats (33-2) are clearly relishing their growing role as favorites. Freshman and player of the year candidate Anthony Davis added 16 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks for Kentucky, which was never seriously threatened.

Western Kentucky (16-19) saw its improbable seven-game winning streak end. Freshman T.J. Price scored 16 of his career-high 21 points in the first half before fouling out late.

Syracuse 72, UNC-Asheville 65

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Reserve James Southerland had 15 points and a season-high eight rebounds and Syracuse avoided becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 when it rallied for a 72-65 victory over UNC-Asheville on Thursday in the East Regional.

Syracuse (32-2) will play eighth-seeded Kansas State in the third round on Saturday at the Consol Energy Center. The Wildcats beat Southern Mississippi 70-64.

The Orange overcame a terrible game from 3-point range (5 of 23) to beat the much-smaller Bulldogs (24-10), who had talked Wednesday of becoming the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1.

J.P. Primm had 18 points for UNC-Asheville.

Murray State 58, Colorado State 41

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Isaiah Canaan scored 15 points in Murray State’s return to the NCAA tournament after a two-year wait, and Donte Poole added 13 to lead the Racers to a 58-41 victory over Colorado State on Thursday in the second round.

Canaan mishandled the ball in the closing seconds of a two-point loss to Butler in 2010 as a freshman. He’s the leader of this group now, and Murray State (31-1) expects a long run in this tournament as the mid-major darlings.

Pierce Hornung led Colorado State (20-12) with 12 points and matched a career-high with 17 rebounds for the 11th-seeded Rams, who were making their first tournament appearance since 2003.

Kansas State 70, Southern Miss 64

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Rodney McGruder scored 30 points and Jordan Henriquez added 15 points, nine rebounds and six blocks to lead eighth-seeded Kansas State over ninth-seeded Southern Miss 70-64 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

The Wildcats (22-10) advanced past their opening tournament game for the third straight year and will face top-seeded Syracuse in the third round Saturday.

Neil Watson led Southern Miss (25-9) with 16 points, LaShay Page had 15 and Kentucky transfer Darnell Dodson scored all 14 of his points in the second half. But the Golden Eagles let a chance to win their first-ever tournament game slip away in the final minutes.

Southern Miss led by as many as five points in the second half, but had no answer when McGruder and freshman point guard Angel Rodriguez keyed a late surge.

After getting ousted in their first tournament game the past two seasons, coach Rick Pitino and the fourth-seeded Cardinals (27-9) advanced at last in the West Regional.

Siva, who had plenty of local support at the Rose Garden from his hometown of Seattle, added six assists to lead the Big East tournament champions, who are making their sixth straight appearance in the NCAAs. Chane Behanan had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals, who led by as many as 14.

Jake Cohen had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Davidson (25-8), which was making its 11th tournament appearance and first since 2008, when it was led by Stephen Curry to the round of eight.

Wisconsin 73, Montana 49

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Rob Evans scored 18 points and Jordan Taylor added 17 points and six assists for Wisconsin, which ended Montana’s school record 14-game winning streak with a 73-49 win over the Grizzlies on Thursday.

The fourth-seeded Badgers (25-9) improved to 10-1 in their NCAA tournament openers under Bo Ryan, the winningest coach in the program’s history.

Wisconsin will face fifth seed Vanderbilt winner in the next round of the East Regional on Saturday at the Pit.

Art Steward’s 18 points led the Grizzles (25-7), who were familiar with the Badgers’ style.

Marquette 88, BYU 68

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jae Crowder finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, Darius Johnson-Odom had 12 of his 20 points in the second half and Marquette withstood another furious BYU rally for an 88-68 Thursday.

Brandon Davies had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the 14th-seeded Cougars (26-9), who looked for a brief while as if they might have a chance to top their historic comeback in the First Four on Tuesday night. After trailing by as many as 19 in the first half, BYU got within 52-46 with 15:28 left. But the Golden Eagles (28-5) were simply too big and too strong.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles (28-5) now play sixth-seeded Murray State in the third round Saturday.

New Mexico 75, Long Beach State 68

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kendall Williams scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and bottled up Long Beach State star Casper Ware defensively to help fifth-seeded New Mexico hold on for a 75-68 victory in the West Regional on Thursday.

Drew Gordon added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Lobos.

With most of the 49ers’ defensive efforts focused on slowing down Gordon, New Mexico’s punishing forward, Williams came up with key shots when the opportunities were there. The Lobos (28-6) then hit their free throws in the final minute to advance to play No. 4 seed Louisville on Saturday.

Williams’ length and quickness bothered Ware. The Big West player of the year went nearly 25 minutes without a field goal and finished with 17 points.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Robert Sacre and Gary Bell Jr. scored 14 points apiece as Gonzaga routed West Virginia 77-54 on Thursday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Kevin Pangos added 13 points and five assists for the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (26-6), who will play Ohio State or Loyola (Md.) in the third round on Saturday.

Gary Browne led the Mountaineers (19-14) with 15 points off the bench and Kevin Jones scored 13 in his final game for West Virginia, which endured its worst postseason defeat in 28 years despite a decided home-court advantage.

Baylor 68, South Dakota State 60

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Pierre Jackson scored 18 points and Baylor held off 14th-seeded South Dakota State 68-60 Thursday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The third-seeded Bears (28-7) fell behind by 12 in the first half before taking a 36-28 halftime lead that they never relinquished. But it was a nail-biter.

Making their first trip to the NCAA tournament, the Jackrabbits (27-8) misfired on a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left that would have made it one-point game. Then, the Bears iced it at the line.

Brady Heslip added 17 points for the Bears, who will face the Colorado-UNLV winner in the third round of the South Regional at The Pit on Saturday.

VCU 62, Wichita State 59

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Bradford Burgess hit a key 3-pointer with 1:33 left and Shaka Smart coached VCU to another tournament surprise, holding off Wichita State 62-59 in the South Regional on Thursday.

The 12th-seeded Rams (29-6) led by as many as 13 in the second half, but the Shockers closed to 54-53 on Garrett Stutz’s layup with 5:39 left. Troy Daniels hit a 3-pointer for the Rams, and Joe Ragland answered with his own for Wichita State.

Stutz’s long jumper just before the buzzer was off for fifth-seeded Wichita State (26-6).

VCU made it all the way to the Final Four last season.

Iowa State 77, Connecticut 64

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Chris Allen led four Cyclones in double figures with 20 points, and Iowa State scored their final 14 at the free throw line Thursday night to beat Connecticut 77-64.

It’s the first time since UCLA in 1996 that the defending champs have lost in the opening game and only the second time the Huskies have lost their first game of the NCAA tournament. UConn coach Jim Calhoun was already on his feet before the final buzzer, walking to congratulate Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg.

The loss is sure to renew questions about the future of Calhoun, who missed a month with back problems and turns 70 in May.